Cow walks on railway track during Ranchi-Patna Vande Bharat Express trial run, accident averted in Koderma

During the trial run of Ranchi-Patna Vande Bharat Express, a cow suddenly came on the railway track near Koderma railway station.

Ranchi/Koderma:The driver's presence of mind helped in averting an accident during the trial run of Ranchi-Patna Vande Bharat Express on Monday after a stray cow suddenly walked over to the railway track.

The incident took place at Koderma railway station when the train was returning from Ranchi. The driver applied the brakes as soon as he spotted the bovine following which an accident was averted. Ashish Jha, ADRM of Dhanbad Railway Division said the incident took place when the train left Koderma railway station. It is common for animals to come on the tracks and drivers often avert such accidents by applying brakes.

Between June to November 2022, Vande Bharat Express recorded 68 cases of animal hit, Railway minster Ashwini Vaishnaw had said while responding to questions in Lok Sabha. Earlier in April, a cow was hit by Vande Bharat Express in Rajasthan's Alwar and prior to that four buffaloes were hit by the Mumbai-Gandhinagar Vande Bharat Express that damaged the nose cone cover of the train.

Meanwhile, the trial run of Vande Bharat Express kicked off from Patna at 6:55 am and the train reached Ranchi at around 12.40 pm after stopping at many stations. People were seen taking selfies with the train while BJP leaders were welcomed at many stations. After reaching Ranchi, barring media no one else was allowed inside the train. The high speed train will cover the distance between Ranchi to Patna in just six hours.

The trial run, which is conducted to ascertain complete safety before regular operation, was earlier scheduled on June 11 but was postponed due to the two-day bandh called in Jharkhand by a students' organisation. More such trial runs would be conducted between Ranchi and Barkakana.